High School Football Players Suspended for Intentionally Hitting Referee From Behind [VIDEO]

The Deflategate scandal pales in comparison to the ugly mess brewing with one high school football team.

A pair of football players from San Antonio's John Jay High School have been suspended from the team -- and from school -- for intentionally hitting a referee during a game last Friday. Video of the incident has gone viral.

As the San Antonio Express News described it:

Late in Jay’s 15-9 loss at Marble Falls, one defensive back ran from 7 yards away into the back of an official watching a run play unfold 9 yards in front of him. After the referee fell to the turf after the first hit, another player standing to the right of the referee and several yards away led with his helmet and dove into the official."

The school district is investigating the matter. The hits on referee Robert Watts occurred with about one minute remaining in the game. Two John Jay players were immediately ejected, though one of the players was not actually a participant. From the Austin-Statesman:

Northside ISD athletic director Steve Laing told KENS-TV in San Antonio the two players involved in the incident — sophomore linebacker Victor Rojas and senior defensive back Michael Moreno — have been suspended from the team, pending an NISD investigation. To muddle matters even more, one of the players who was ejected was not involved in the play. Officialls incorrectly tossed out senior defensive back Trenton Hobdy instead of Moreno.

Moreno may have been trying to get himself ejected, as he picked up a personal foul on the next play for hitting the opposing quarterback as he was taking a knee to run out the clock. This guy sounds like a real winner.

Prior to the incident, two other players from Jay had been ejected for throwing punches, although it's unclear if that had any connection to what happened. Members of the John Jay team may have blamed Watts for those ejections.